About Me

Wednesday, 1 December 2010

Sexual abuse in Pakistan

A friend recently sent me this email, ' I was shocked to learn from a VOA Radio Broadcast

that in Pakistan ( according to a poll ) every fourth

child is likely to suffer rape or sodomy. Where are

we heading. Ai Khuda Batha, Batha !!!!!'....To this I replied:

This is not unexpected. With entertainment opportunties shrinking by the day: no play grounds, no theatres, no cinemma houses,no public parks, no opportunities for any other form of socialisation what else can one expect from young people with enormous amounts of energy in their bodies? Combine this with our repressive, exclusivist tendencies and with the increasing number of unemployed and un-educated millions of our youth. Increaingly male members of our society cannot marry before they are into their late 30's, sometimes even 40' and above. All legal ways to satisfy this natural drive called sex are closed. Our maulanas try their best to frighten people of the various 'azaabs' if they indulge in 'zina' etc but to no avail because there are no alternative avenues. The outcome of this suppression, deprivation and the consequent frustration is a stale society fixated either on renunciation of the world or on going for the gratification of the sexual drive. Sodomy is more prevalent in our society than female rape for it is easier and 'safer' to cope with the consequences if caught in this case. An 'empty mind is the devil's workshop', as they say. Personally, I have been observing that in schools those boys (if girls are reading this, they can come up with their own version of the story. I'll be happy to hear about that side of the picutre as well) are more prone to sexual tendencies who do not take part in sports, games and other entertainment/co-curricular activities. Extreme form of gender segregation is also one big source of this suffocation in the society we live in. A false sense of superficial morality is deeply in place. Mere sermons from our clerics and a fear of 'Jahannum' won't do the job, otherwise no madrasa child would have been a victim but that is not the case (quite the opposite perhaps). We need to give positive, creative direction to the energies at the disposal of our youth.But who are WE?